Representative image of spices.
Credit: Pixabay Photo
Thiruvananthapuram: The United States’ decision to impose a 25% tariff on imports from India could impact key export sectors in Kerala, including seafood, coir, spices, garments, tea and cashew.
The US is a major destination for these commodities, and Kerala is among India’s leading contributors.
A seasonal surge in vegetable exports to the US, driven by increased demand among the Malayali diaspora during the upcoming Onam and New Year festivities, may also be disrupted by the tariff hike.
According to industry sources, around 12% of the cargo exported through Cochin Port each month is bound for the US, mainly the East Coast.
“Around 14,000 TEUs are exported from Kochi monthly, of which about 1,500 TEUs go to the US. Therefore, the recent tariff hike is likely to have an impact here,” said Prakash Iyer, chairman of the Cochin Port Users’ Forum.
Kerala’s major exports to the US include coir, rubber products, spices, seafood and garments, while cashew and tea are exported in smaller quantities.
Iyer, who also serves on the executive committee of the Cochin Chamber of Commerce and Industry, noted a decline in orders received by some exporters.
According to the Kerala government’s latest economic review, the US ranked as the third-largest export market for Indian marine products in 2023–24, with imports totalling 3.3 lakh metric tonnes.
Kerala was the third-largest seafood exporting state by volume and second by export value. Of this, 18,083 metric tonnes of Kerala’s marine products were shipped to the United States.
The export of coir and coir products from Kerala through Cochin Port showed a strong upward trend in 2023–24. A total of 2,96,137 metric tonnes were exported, marking a 148% increase over the previous year.
The US emerged as the second-largest importer of coir products from India, accounting for 25% of the export value and 11.5% of the quantity.